Alessia Cara won the Grammy for Best New Artist in January, one of the few women receiving an award during the televised program. Starting next year, the Recording Academy plans to feature eight nominees, up from five, in that category and three others.Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic/Getty Images

Grammy Awards to Expand Field for Top Prizes

Grammys for Album of the Year, Best New Artist and other big awards will include more nominees next year

Alessia Cara won the Grammy for Best New Artist in January, one of the few women receiving an award during the televised program. Starting next year, the Recording Academy plans to feature eight nominees, up from five, in that category and three others.Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic/Getty Images

Alessia Cara won the Grammy for Best New Artist in January, one of the few women receiving an award during the televised program. Starting next year, the Recording Academy plans to feature eight nominees, up from five, in that category and three others.
Photo:
Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic/Getty Images

The Grammy Awards is expanding the number of nominees for its top awards to eight from five, a move intended to broaden the kinds of artists it recognizes and one that could result in more female, country and rock musicians up for high-profile prizes.

The Recording Academy, which runs the industry’s annual music awards, on Tuesday notified its 24,000 members of the change. It will apply to four categories, starting next year: Album of the Year, considered the most prestigious Grammy; Record of the Year, devoted to song performers, producers and engineers; Song of the Year, which recognizes composers and songwriters; and Best New Artist.

Most of the Recording Academy’s 80 other awards, which don’t attract as many contenders, will stick with five nominees.

In a statement,
Neil Portnow,
president of the Recording Academy, said the change “creates more opportunities for a wider range of recognition in these important categories and gives more flexibility to our voters.”

Kendrick Lamar performed onstage during this year’s Grammys and won several awards, including Best Rap Album.
Photo:
Kevin Winter/Getty Images

The Grammys has long been criticized for being out of touch with current tastes, but it came under additional pressure this year for the dearth of female nominees and honorees, something that could change with expanded categories.

Alessia Cara,
who won Best New Artist in January, was one of the few women receiving an award during the televised program. Lorde was the sole female nominee for Album of the Year and the only nominee who wasn’t allowed a solo performance. Mr. Portnow attracted additional criticism following an interview in which he said women in the industry needed to “step up.”

More nominees could also diversify the kinds of music featured during the Grammys. As hip-hop and R&B have come to dominate nominations for the highest-profile categories such as Album of the Year, country and rock acts haven’t been as visible. Country music this year, for example, didn’t garner a single nomination among the top four categories for the first time in 14 years.

Expanding nominees won’t necessarily result in a more inclusive show or ensure that fans will suddenly tune in. Fans and music insiders may complain that the fields are diluted by the additional contenders.

For record executives, a major implication is that a larger number of artists and albums can carry the “Grammy-nominated” label in the years ahead. Much as moviegoers seek out Oscar-nominated films, music listeners catch up by looking at Album of the Year and Best New Artist nominees, which can boost album sales and streaming numbers.